Please Take Care Of Yourself

While the research shows that teachers have the most influence on the student success, the quality of the leadership runs a close second. Furthermore, I believe that the quality of the teacher is often determined by the quality of the leader.

As leaders of students and teachers we need to do all that we can to take care of our mental well-being. This can be very difficult with all that leaders are being asked to do today. I also know that more and more leaders today are following the servant-leader model. In fact, I myself, try to adhere to the principles of the servant-leader model. The one danger of this model is that it can become very stressful and very tiring at times because we often feel we have to take on everything.

First, and foremost we must always remember that we work with a team. I myself happen to work with an amazing group of individuals that inspire and support me everyday. We must allow ourselves to accept the fact that we will not be able to solve every problem in our building. And that is ok. That is why you build and strengthen your team every chance you get. So that they can support you whenever you need it.

Next, we must allow ourselves to have time in which we are not thinking about school. As one of the leaders of my school I find myself constantly thinking about the issues from the previous week or concerns for the upcoming week. I have gotten better at finding ways to escape school or, to be quite honest, even forget about school for hours, or on the weekend, a day at a time. This is crucial if we expect to be able to enter school each day with a clear head and ready to take on whatever awaits us.

Finally, we must remember to serve ourselves. A servant-leader can not be effective if they are exhausted mentally, physically, or emotionally. Take time for yourself even if you don’t have it. You will always have something on your “to do” list that won’t get done. So what?. It is not okay to enter school grouchy, exhausted and stressed. So do what you need to do to prepare yourself for each and every day. Know that you won’t get everything done and that is okay. But, know that your staff and students need you healthy, energized, positive and ready to take on whatever each school day brings.